Chapter 9: The Trial of Silence
For the next three days, Yun Fei made a promise to himself—no regrets would be resolved.
No matter how small, no matter how tempting.
And immediately, the world seemed to… shift.
It wasn't visible like a storm or an earthquake. But Yun Fei could feel the threads of fate twisting, resisting his inaction. As though the Regret Index itself was offended.
---
Day One – The Unspoken Plea
The first test came sooner than expected.
As Yun Fei walked into the school library, he saw her—Zhao Min, the quiet girl who always sat in the third row of class, her long sleeves covering her arms even in summer.
That day, she looked different. Her eyes were puffy. Her body slumped like a marionette with its strings cut. No one noticed.
Except him.
> Regret Shard #028 Detected – "The Cry Behind the Silence"
You saw the signs. You walked away. One word might have saved her.
Recommended Action: Ask her how she feels. Just once.
Time Remaining: 12 hours.
Risk Level: High – Life and Death Involved.
Yun Fei's hand tightened on his backpack strap.
He turned around and left the library.
This is a test, he told himself. I can't fix it yet. I need to understand more first.
But his heart screamed at him as he walked away.
---
At Home – The Cost of Inaction
That night, Yun Fei couldn't sleep.
He stared at the ceiling, haunted by Zhao Min's face.
The Index did not send another notification. It didn't punish him. It didn't scold.
It just… waited.
But he felt it.
A whisper in his mind.
What if she dies tomorrow? Could you live with that?
---
Day Two – Jiang Chen's Scar
Jiang Chen found him during lunch.
They sat on the old bench near the field, an echo of the days before everything broke between them.
"I found a job," Jiang Chen said. "Courier. Honest work. It's not much, but it's mine."
Yun Fei smiled. "That's great."
Jiang Chen hesitated. "I wanted to ask you something. You think people like us... we can really change?"
Yun Fei knew what the Regret Index would say if he looked.
He didn't.
Instead, he simply replied, "I don't think change is a straight line. It's a spiral. Sometimes we return to the same place, but we come back stronger."
Jiang Chen laughed. "You sound like a teacher."
"I sound like someone who's made a lot of mistakes."
And somehow, saying that felt… better than any reward the system might have given.
---
Night Two – System Log Access Attempted
At exactly 3:33 AM, Yun Fei awoke with a start.
The black coin pulsed on his desk.
He sat up, heart pounding, and approached it. Slowly, he placed it in his palm.
> Unauthorized Access Attempt Blocked
Level Three Lock Active.
Emotion Core Insufficient.
Warning: Entity: OBSERVER-NULL is aware of your divergence.
Then, the coin dimmed.
And behind it, scrawled faintly into the wood of his desk—as if scratched by an invisible hand—was a single word:
> "WATCHING."
---
Day Three – The Jealous One
Yun Fei didn't expect Liu Sheng to confront him so soon.
Liu Sheng—once the top of the class, always standing in Yun Fei's shadow since his return.
"You think you're special?" Liu Sheng hissed after class, cornering him in the corridor. "Walking around like you know things before they happen. Like you're better than us."
"I never said that," Yun Fei replied calmly.
"But you act like it. And Lin Xiya—she used to talk to me. Until you showed up again."
Ah.
So that was it.
Jealousy. Twisted with bitterness.
> Regret Shard #035 – "The Rival Who Could've Been a Friend"
Two prodigies. One road. A wrong word now becomes a feud forever.
Recommended Action: De-escalate. Offer truce.
Time Remaining: 8 hours.
Yun Fei ignored it.
He didn't take the bait.
But in Liu Sheng's glare, he saw something dangerous. The kind of bitterness that festers. That breaks people.
And for the first time, he feared what not acting might create.
---
Night Three – The Mirror Test
At midnight, the Regret Index activated.
No warning. No prompt. Just a quiet voice inside his head.
> "Three days passed. You chose silence."
Yun Fei nodded to the air.
> "Then let the mirror show you what might have been."
And suddenly, the room melted away.
He stood in a black hallway—mirrors on either side, stretching into forever.
In one mirror, he saw Zhao Min in a hospital bed, tubes in her arm. Alive.
In the next—an obituary.
In one, Jiang Chen owned a small garage, wiping oil off his hands and smiling. In another—he was lying on concrete, blood pooling.
Each mirror showed a version of the future.
And the cost of his silence.
> "You now see the weight of your choices."
"This is your burden now. Not every regret must be solved—
—but every regret changes someone."
---
Return
When he woke up, it was dawn.
Lin Xiya had texted him:
"I had a nightmare. You were gone. Please tell me you're okay."
He stared at the message, then at the Regret Index.
> New Trait Acquired – "The Weight Bearer"
You've seen both sides. Your heart now filters regrets by purpose, not emotion.
Level Up: Emotional Core Level 2 → Level 3
System Response Updated: You may now choose to ignore or delay Regrets without backlash—
But beware: Some regrets wait for no one.